Timing is everything

Tonight is quiet at my house, sleepovers and friends taking kids off to other places. So, I'm participating in the Friday night sew in. Lucky for me, I have several swaps and UFO's that need some attention. So, here are some of the things I did:
1. FRMQG Mug Rug Swap  I have Jodi and she was a teacher in her former life. Our challenge was to learn something about another guild member, and then make a mug rug. The gifting of the mug rug had to come with a hand written note and a "something" (not otherwise specified) to put on (in my case in) the mug rug.

Mug Rug for Jodi

So, I used an Alexander Henry fabric (apples and pears) I had in my stash for a while and fussy cut 2 apples. Apples for the teacher, right? Then I used the quilt-as-you-go technique to attach the pieces of my design to the batting. I saved the selvage edge and added the "apples and pears" to the mix. And since it said pears, I added a pear pocket. My nod to a love of garment making and my contribution to the "something" on/(in) the mug rug is some paper and a pencil so that Jodi can jot down important thoughts and musings while sipping hot chocolate (her favorite hot beverage).  The No. 2 pencil is another nod to her years of teaching.  The remainder of the fabrics are from my stash, past and present.  I used a Kona solid for the base color and it reminds me of a Granny Smith Apple- are you feeling the theme here???? 

Pear pocket for paper and No. 2 pencil

I finished the back with another design, simpler, but then you have a choice of which side is up, based on your mood. I pieced the binding with left over bits and pieces from the project.

back of Jodi's mug rug

I hope Jodi likes this, I had never made a mug rug before and it was great fun. It was nice to have a project that I could start and finish in one sitting. I posted a picture of this on the Mug Rug Madness Flickr Group.

2. Two fabric blocks for a Christmas Fabric Bee for Singings. I just got my fabric the other day and in my package was a tea bag. I made my tea and got sewing.......

testing the mug rug for Jodi

Christmas bee block for Singings

3. last but not least, need to work on my quilt in progress.....

I'm getting tired, perhaps only a little sewing on this.